Corvus
by uchisasusakusara
Summary: ONESHOT: He knew she would be the only one that he would have these kinds of feelings for, that she was the only one that could calm him, and the only one that could cause him to feel the same feeling in his heart as when he thought about his family. She was his family, and after traveling together for so long, he realized that. SasuSaku proposal! Please read and review!


The sound of crickets chirping cut through the silence of the night. A blanket rustled, a head turned towards the stream of moonlight coming through a gap in the curtains. Uchiha Sasuke blinked a few times before sitting up, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark. He took in the small room: his clothes folded neatly in the corner alongside a red qipao shirt, two pairs of sandals stood by the doorway, and the sound of light breathing coming from his left. The clock on the wall read 2:15 AM and Sakura was fast asleep. Sasuke never could sleep well at inns, having grown used to the rough feeling of bark or grass on his travels. Slipping out of his blanket, he stood up and made his way to the sliding glass door that led to a small balcony outside their room. As he reached for the handle, he heard Sakura stir and then awaken.

"Sasuke-kun?" came a groggy voice.

"Go back to sleep. I'm just stepping out for fresh air."

Sasuke pulled the door open as quietly as he could and stepped outside into the cool January air. They were in a small town near Kirigakure, and though there were few lights, mainly coming from people's porches, they twinkled under his gaze like a sparse sky of stars. Looking up to the sky, he was reminded about how he and Itachi would watch the stars together whenever he had trouble sleeping.

" _Nii-san! That one's really bright!_ "

" _That's Sirius, Sasuke. It's the brightest star in the sky and part of the constellation Canis Major._ "

" _What about that one?_ "

" _Ah, that's one of the stars that actually are a group of three. Do you see that line? That's called Orion's belt. It's part of the constellation Orion_."

Itachi taught Sasuke all about the different constellations that appeared in the sky, and while he traveled alone, he often found himself scanning the sky and remembering the times he spent with his brother. It was times like these that Sasuke felt a pang in his heart, longing for his family and wishing that Itachi was still here to hear his stories. Sasuke was so deep in thought he was almost startled when a pair of arms wrapped around his middle and a warm body pressed against his back.

"Are you alright?" a muffled voice asked.

"Aa. I'm just thinking about some things."

"You were staring pretty intently at the sky."

"Itachi taught me the names of all the constellations when I was little. Whenever I look at them, I can't help be reminded of him."

Sakura put her arms down and stood next to Sasuke. Raising her head and squinting a little, she allowed her green eyes to take in the sea of stars above her.

"Look, Sasuke-kun! There's part of the constellation Corvus. You can barely see it at this latitude, but if you squint a little you can see part of the trapezoid it makes."

"Sharingan, don't need to squint."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to give her an affectionate smirk.

"Corvus symbolizes the raven you know, the Greek god Apollo's sacred bird. It was also Itachi's signature genjutsu, wasn't it? Think of the constellation as his way of telling you that he'll always be watching over you," Sakura said.

Sasuke was silent but he nodded, slightly surprised at how much she knew about the constellations too, and felt a small lump in his throat at the mention of his brother.

"I spent a lot of time reading books on the stars when I was younger," Sakura shrugged, "When we go on missions I always like to think about the stars and that they symbolize things. Oh look! There's Orion. Do you see the – "

"Three stars in a line? That's Orion's belt."

Sakura turned her head towards Sasuke with a bright smile on her face. She took his arm in hers and laid her head on his shoulder, and the two stood in silence for a moment, gazing upwards. Sasuke felt her shiver and left the balcony momentarily and came back with a blanket big enough to wrap the two of them in, and silence fell over them once more.

As Sasuke relished in the warmth and comforting presence of the kunoichi next to him, he began to feel drowsier. He was on the verge of sleep when Sakura spoke and woke him up.

"Do you have a favorite constellation?"

"Favorite constellation? Not particularly. I admire them as I see them, I guess."

"Mine is probably Corona Borealis. Have you heard the story behind it? It symbolizes princess Ariadne's crown, which became a constellation after she threw it towards the sky when she and Dionysus got married. He saved her you know? Her previous lover left her alone on an island. This crown represents the love and unbroken bond between her and Dionysus and that's why I love it."

There was a pause.

"Marry me."

"Huh?"

Sakura whipped her head towards Sasuke so fast that she almost slammed into him. His gaze was turned down and if it was any lighter outside, Sakura could have sworn that his face was a few shades redder than it normally is.

"You heard me."

"I-I… Sasuke-kun?"

"Marry me."

There was another pause as Sasuke's statement lingered in the air. Sasuke had never been good with words nor timing, but he'd thought about marrying Sakura for a while now. He knew she would be the only one that he would have these kinds of feelings for, that she was the only one that could calm him, and the only one that could cause him to feel the same feeling in his heart as when he thought about his family. She was his family, and after traveling together for so long, he realized that.

"Okay, I'll marry you."

It was Sasuke's turn to look at her, eyes filled with emotion, and the small lump that was in his throat before seemed to swell to many times its original size. He always that she would be the one to shed tears when they got engaged, but was almost pleasantly surprised that he was the emotional one. Taking her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze, he whispered, "Thank you."

In the distance, it seemed that the stars in the constellation Corvus shined extra bright that night.

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 **AN:** My take on the SasuSaku proposal. I don't think that Sasuke would ever go for something cheesy or super romantic, and I don't picture him being the kind of person that has an elaborate plan. I think that as their relationship falls into place, eventually Sasuke would just ask Sakura to marry him, and then it would happen. Hope you enjoy the story! Please leave a review (:


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